MADURAI: Hundreds of advocates staged a demonstration from the Madurai Combined District Court Complex to the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Friday, demanding the removal of Judicial Magistrate of Madurai, D Lakshmi Priya, who took contempt action against four advocates on charges of disrupting court proceedings in January this year. They observed a court boycott in the district court on Friday and stated that the boycott will continue on Saturday as well.
The demonstration witnessed a brief confrontation between the advocates and the police at the High Court main entrance when a section of them forcibly entered the campus. However, due to the demonstration, vehicle movement was blocked along the entire route from the district court to the Othakadai area (over 5 km) for more than three hours, causing significant inconvenience to the public.
The advocates took this decision based on a resolution passed by the Joint Advocates Association Council of Tamil Nadu & Puducherry in a recent meeting in Tiruchy. They alleged that the magistrate failed to treat the Bar with respect. They also cited that the magistrate initiated contempt proceedings against four advocates, including the president and secretary of the Madurai Bar Association, on charges of disrupting court proceedings on January 19.
It was alleged that one of the advocates had moved a petition under Section 100 BNSS seeking issuance of a search warrant for the SS Colony police station by alleging that his client was illegally detained by the police there despite an interim order passed by the high court not to arrest him. Dissatisfied with the manner in which the petition was heard, the advocate had sought the help of the office bearers of the association, who had come to the court and requested the magistrate to issue a warrant. When the magistrate pointed out that only the counsel on record can represent the case, the advocates objected to it, reportedly in raised voices, following which the magistrate retired to her chambers and initiated contempt proceedings against them.
Though the advocates challenged the proceedings before the high court, the latter dismissed the petition by appreciating the magistrate for the manner in which she handled the issue. The magistrate then concluded the contempt proceedings on May 21 by imposing a fine of Rs 100 each on the advocates.
Speaking to TNIE, one of the four advocates and the secretary of the bar association, S Mohan Kumar, said they were not given a fair opportunity of hearing during the trial and would be filing an appeal against the magistrate's order. He also informed that at the end of the rally, their representatives met the administrative judge of the Madurai Bench, Justice N Sathish Kumar, and submitted a petition to him.